Don’t Let Freedom Reign On Your Parade

Saad Abdul-Aziz Rawi, the head of the commission, told the Anbar newspaper that it was “impossible to hold elections” in the province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims and where insurgent attacks already have prevented voter registration. The province includes the restive cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

“They are kidding themselves,” Rawi said about officials hopeful that the elections, set for Jan. 30, could take place in Anbar.

An Iraqi at the commission’s office in Anbar said the members had resigned and had gone into hiding.

In a separate incident Sunday, the U.S. Army said two people were killed when soldiers fired on a vehicle that had approached a checkpoint in Duluiyah, near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad. The vehicle swerved off the road and hit a telephone pole, the military said in a statement. The driver and a front-seat passenger were killed. A passenger in the back seat was treated for shock. The military said the incident was under investigation.

A civilian guard at Duluiyah Electrical Co., who said he witnessed the incident, disputed that account. He said a gunner manning a Humvee at the checkpoint appeared to fall asleep, setting off a spray of bullets that pierced the vehicle. “It looked like he fell down on his gun and fired,” said the guard, Abu Sager.

“The American soldiers were apologizing to the people . . . and took the family to the hospital,” he said.